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Old 21st Apr 2014, 16:49
  #21 (permalink)  
thing
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: 23, Railway Cuttings, East Cheam
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Yes I like the idea of that- presumably I would need an instrument\ifr rating? Are they particularly expensive to add on to your PPL?
It's a minimum of 15 hours instrument training which will give you a IR(R) or restricted instrument rating. The restricted bit means you can't fly in Class A airways (where the airliners live so not applicable 99% of the time in a light aircraft) and the recommended minima for a precision instrument approach is 500', which means you can descend blind to 500' on your approach.

Apart from the safety factor in that you can fly in cloud with no problems and do an instrument approach it also improves your dispatch rate. Let's say you decide to fly to France for the day and want an early start. The weather where you are is overcast at a 1000' base and 3,000 tops. It's raining but the weather in France is fine and your home weather is forecast to improve later on. On a VFR only license you would probably scrub the trip or go later on and have a much shorter time in France. With a IR(R) rating you just go, sit on top of the weather and enjoy a full day wherever you are going. Of course it helps if your home field has all the approach aids, which mine has.

IMO it's the best thing you can spend your money on after the PPL. Others will obviously disagree but it depends on what sort of flying you want to do. There's also a small but odd group who feel that once you have your IR(R) you shouldn't use it at all. Personally I use mine whenever the need arises which is fairly often.

Last edited by thing; 21st Apr 2014 at 17:19.
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